Serendipity shutters in Clio

Jean Johnson | The Flint JournalThe City of Clio aims to lease out 509 W. Veinna St. following the news that Serendipity, the current renter, will not continue their lease in 2010. The loss of the lease creates a $20,348.52 shortfall to the city.CLIO, Michigan — Clio City Hall is in the looking for a new neighbor. Serendipity, the 509 W. Vienna St. tenant for the last 25 years, has already shut its doors, started packing and will be out before the new year.

The facility, which is part of Genesee County Community Mental Health, provided a day program for individuals with severe mental illness and developmental disabilities, said Genesee CMH CEO Dan Russell. It provides attendees with socialization and activities.

The location will be merging with GCCMH's Flint location on Home Avenue, near Pearson Road.

"The manager of that program retired, " Russell said. "With the state budget and the economy the way they are, we're always looking for ways to be more effective - so we combined them."

The organization informed the city last month that it would not renew the lease on the city-owned property in 2010, said Clio City Administrator Jack Abernathy. The business is moving because of funding cuts to a donated space in the Westwood Heights School District, Abernathy said.

The loss of the tenant means a $20,348.52 annual decrease in revenue, Abernathy said. Not to mention that the average utility bill ranges from $1,328 to $326 per month, he said.

Due to loss of revenue and the cost of renovation, operation and building maintenance, Abernathy suggested to city commissioners that they advertise the building for lease.

Abernathy said he thought it would be fiscally irresponsible for the city to take on the cost of remodeling the building for city offices and pay for additional utility bills. He received one estimate for a remodeling project, and said it was between $12,000 and $15,000.

If the city loses rent on the property, it will contribute more to the next year's budget, which already is taking a hit of $100,000 in taxes, $30,000 in state-shared revenue. The three -- rent, taxes and revenue -- combined equal 11 percent of the city's budget, said Clio Treasurer Donald Dowell.

Commissioner Duane Mosher worried they might have trouble finding a new tenant. He said one of the issues with the space was not the space itself, but parking.

"Because of the size of our lot we can only give a couple spots at any one time, " he said. "And there's not too many active businesses that are ever going to want to go in somewhere where there's no real parking for their customer base - so that becomes a potential issue. That's one thing we're going to have to look into."

Mosher, however, said he favored an ad about the space. The motion passed unanimously.

The area for lease is 3,400 feet and the former tenant's rent was $1,600 monthly.

Other options that were discussed were the city turning the space into an "incubator building" with multiple tenants or working with the Downtown Development Authority.